Just Call Me Kat
by H. E. Vaughn
Summary: Yet another girl-falls-into-Thedas...man, how many are there? 18-yr-old Kat Micheals passes out in the woods one day, and wakes up just outside Lothering the next, surrounded by none other than the last three Grey Wardens left in all of Fereldan. What is a girl to do? How about help save another world, while falling for the most handsome man around? What could possibly go wrong?
1. Prolouge

**A/n: Okay, after being totally OBSESSED with Dragon Age for MONTHS (thank you, Charlette Cheshire...) I finally got around to writing my own fanfiction about it!**

**This is sorta like a self-insertion, but not, b/c the name and description are different...(it would have ben the same, but I already did that with my Digimon fanfic years ago, and it just felt wierd, so...)**

**Anyways, the idea and encouragement to write this came from my best friend, Charlette Cheshire, and her fanfic "The Game", which is fantastic, btw, so READ IT! :3 Okay, plase enjoy!**

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Have I ever told you that I _hate_ my name? Oh, wait, of course I haven't; you don't even know me...yet.

My name's Katniss, or at least, that's what my mother calls me. Sound familiar? Yeah, I thought so... I mean, it's a great name and all, and I love The Hunger Games, but...I just hate _sharing_ that name. People call me "Katniss Everdeen" and "Fire Girl" all the time, (and don't even _mention_ the whole debate over Gale and Peeta), and it drives me absolutely nuts! ...Though, I suppose it beats being dubbed "Hannah Montana", like one of my friends.

But that's not relevant at the moment. What _is_, however, is that I may have to fix the back door when I get back, because I think I _might_ have broken it when it was slammed in my haste to get out of the house.

You see, I live out in the middle of nowhere, (the woods in Georgia), with my brother, my sister, and my crazy mother. How crazy, you ask? _Well_, she believes in healing crystals, and hangs old, moldy herbs on the window sills and in the doorframes (to ward off "spirits"), and hands out "protection charms" to little kids on Halloween... (it is _incredibly_ difficult, by the way, to make new friends when you're a kid, and you mother doesn't give out candy to trick-or-treaters...).

Oh, and she's an _uber_ health nut. She doesn't use any salt in her cooking. **NONE**. At this point, I'm not surprised that Dad left. And she's obsessed with herbs, too. So much, that she decided to name the three of us after her favorites: Basil, Rosemary, and Katniss Sage Micheals.

But please, just call me _**Kat**_.

Anyway, I slammed the door and started marching towards the woods, muttering under my breath with evey step.

Is it normal to think that "teenage rebellion" can be healed with some moldy mint and an old crystal? No? Didn't think so.

You see, I had had another..._disagreement_ with my mother about her way of life. She had been talking about how we were to celebrate the upcoming solstice together, and I had vehemently refused to participate; not because of the ritual itself, but because I _swear_, I'm allergic to whatever incense it is my mother insists on using. My mother then started talking about how "rebellious" I had been as of late, wearing skinny jeans and high-tops rather than the floor-length skirts and old sandals she had gotten me. Then I got upset, throwing my arms up in the air while saying I was eighteen and could make my own decisions. I stormed out once she started on about her "healing ritual" to "cleanse my troubled aura"; my siblings stayed with her, somehow managing to stay completely silent the whole time while eating their unsalted, oily fish.

I felt a buzz in my pocket; I had forgotten that I had my phone with me. I pulled it out and flipped it open to see a text from my best friend, Gaelan.

It read: "**Hey, I just got word from the drum major: rehearsal on Saturday has been extended from 9-9 to 9-9:30. Something about a meeting concerning the upcoming competition.**" In all my jumbled thoughts, I had forgotten all about practicing. Being a percussionist in the marching band required constant practice, and I wasn't getting very far with it. (Who could blame me? I wouldn't even be in it if not for Gaelan talking me into it; I didn't even think I could play an insrtument!). I quickly pressed "Reply" and typed:

"_**Okay. Have you heard anything about Daniel?"**_ A minute passed, then another buzz.

"**Yeah, he ending up quitting. Speaking of which, I need you to start practicing triplet runs. We are moving you up to 4th marimba for the opener."**

**_"Me? Are you sure? I am horrible at runs over 120."_**

**"Which is why I want you to practice. You'll get there, you just need some outside investment."**

_**"****Alright, but I've gotta let off some steam first."**_

**"You and your mom fight again?"**

_**"Yeah, and I stormed out for a walk. Maker, she's just so...URGH!"**_

**"Well, just be careul, it's getting dark around here."**

_**"KK, later."**_ I closed my phone, then looked up to see little white flowers all around me. I had never seen so much honeysuckle before... Wait, where _was_ I? I looked all around, but nothing seemed familiar, though it was hard to tell what was around me with the sun setting behind the trees. I had to hurry and get back, but which way had I come from? The honeysuckles were everwhere.

Suddenly, the bushes in front of me rustled. Nothing major, I thought, just a squirrel or a bird, right?

The bushes rustled again, and a growl came with it... Now, I was scared. That growl didn't sound like any animal I had ever heard before. I took a step back just as the bushes moved again, along with the growl. From where I stood now, I could see into a little space between the flowers; through that little gap, I saw a pair of bloodshot, yellowing eyes glaring right back at me.

I didn't care what direction I went now, I just started running, trying to get as far away from that creature as possible. Something in my mind registered those eyes as familiar to me, something I ahd seen before, but I pushed it aside, running faster from the bushes. I could hear the growling behind me, closing in. Damn, that thing was _fast_!

Next thing I knew, I felt my body crash to the forest floor. A hand grabbed onto my ankle, dragging me back towards the bushes. I started thrashing, trying to free myself from whatever it was that had me. I felt my foot connect with something, but right as I squirmed free of the it's grasp, a sharp pain struck on the back of my head. I cried out, falling back to the ground. I put my hand to my head, feeling a warm wetness coat my fingers. I started to hyperventilate, not even noticing that the hand had reacttached to my ankle, dragging me away again. The edges of my vision went fuzzy, and the last thing I saw was the white honeysuckle flowers pass over my head as I blacked out.

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**A/n: Well, there's the prolouge. Please, reviews are the happy things that keep us writers going! I write this for all of you nice people out there. (BTW, first flamer gets fed to Dragon!Flemeth...muahahaha!) See you next time!**

**~xXx~**

**24 July 2012 9:48 pm - - Finally edited that last paragraph! Gods, it drove me crazy, but it's fixed! Your welcome, nice peoples! :3**


	2. Man, These Jeans Are TIGHT!

**A/n: I just had to update this again so soon, I was excited about it! BTW, the picture attached to this fanfiction _is_ a picture of my OC, Kat. I made it on TekTek (for those of you who don't know, that's ). Anyways, yes, in the summary, I mention THREE Grey Wardens...yes, there will be three, and no, Kat is not one of them. Both of the other wardens (meaning, besides Alistair) will both be boys, and there will be one guy/guy pairing (you know who with *wink wink*). Please enjoy!**

**DISCLAIMER: Bioware owns Dragon Age, its main characters, and the backgrounds of 2 of my OC's. I only REALLY own Kat and her family, got it? THIS WILL BE THE ONLY DISCLAIMER!...for now, at least...  
**

**PS: Some of the dialouge belongs to bioware, and Charlette Cheshire is my beta!  
**

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"Excuse me, miss, are you alright?" I groaned, reality slowly coming back to me. The pain in my head had subsided to a dull ache, but it panged with every word spoken. Wait, who was talking? Where was I?

I slowly opened my eyes, then felt them widen quickly of their own accord. Oh. Holy. **Zues**. Surrounding me were three of the best looking guys I'd ever seen, but that wasn't all. The one closest to me, his hand on my shoulder from shaking me awake, was _Alistair Theirin_... As in, my favorite character from my favorite video game EVER!

All I could do was blink; I couldn't even focus on where I was, or how I got there. I just laid there, staring into Alistair's amber eyes. His eyebrows furrowed, and I felt my face flush.

"Are you alright?" he asked again, and this time I heard them over the pain in my skull. I opened my mouth to answer, but no words came out; I started to nod my head, wincing at the pain it caused me. This caused his eyes to widen also, and he quickly moved his hands to help me sit up, supporting my back against his knee.

"Who are you?" one of the others, a tan elf with silvery-white hair, asked, "Do you know how you got here?" I turned to answer him, but all that came out was a scratchy cough; my throat had never felt so dry. Alistair was even quicker this time, holding a waterskin to my lips so I could drink. My face felt even hotter as I took a gulp, smiling apreciatively at him once I had finished. I turned back to the elf.

"Kat," I replied, which recieved some confused looks from him and the others, "My name is Kat." I giggled a bit, I couldn't help it! Their expressions were so interresting! The elf shook his head, clearing his throat before returning his attention to me.

"Well..._Kat_, do you remember how you got here?" Now it was my turn to look confused. Where was _here_, anyway? I took a moment to look around. The dark, dense wilderness around me was certainly not the small, open forest beside my house. At the very least, there were no honeysuckles around me, confirming the theory that that creature had brought me here somehow...How long, exactly, was I knocked out?

"I-I...where is _here_?" I asked, turning to study the two other men here.

The elf was only about my height, (about 5' 4"), with tan, lanky muscles that suggested him to be a rouge, but the battleaxe on his back gave no mistake of his being a warrior. He had sharp, crystal-blue eyes that held a mischievous glimmer, and his short, white hair was cut in much the same style as Alistair's.

The other man was human, with skin as pale as mine, and black hair in what Gaelan might have called a "Moses" cut, meaning it cut straight around him, just below his ears, with bangs in a straight cut as well, as well as some stubble on the edge of his chin. His eyes were slivery-gray and glaring, as if looking deep into my soul and knowing I did not belong. I only had to glace once to see the staff on his back, to show that he was, in fact, a mage. His glare sharpened, and I knew then that he and I might never get along.

"We're in the Kocari Wilds," Alistair answered me gently, "Surely you knew that, right?" The Kocari Wilds? The same ones from the game? At this point, I felt like fainting again, but held myself as I processed the information. Somehow, I had been kidnapped by some creature and dropped right into the setting of my favorite game... I was either seriously conked out, or I needed to be locked in the looney bin...

I shook my head, turning back to the elf, "I was out for a walk, when I ran into...something, I don't know, but it chased me, and then grabbed my ankle and started dragging me. I tried fighting back, but then I felt this sharp pain in my head, a-and I blacked out..." The mage, (Moses, as he shall now be dubbed), scoffed at me, drawing the attention of the other two.

"And we're just supposed to _trust_ this woman?" he said, giving me a once-over with cold eyes, "I mean, just look at how she's dressed! She's obviously not normal."

I had completely forgotten about that tiny detail. I glanced down to see my cream-colored, over-sized shirt that hung off one shoulder, dark, skin-tight skinny jeans (that left little to the imagination, I now noticed...), and electric blue high-tops. I felt my neck for my Nordic attraction rune, finding it tucked under my shirt, then checked my hair to find a few honeysuckles stuck in my long, brown side braid, along with some dried blood on the back of my neck. I _definitly_ didn't look like I belonged here.

"Says the guy who flirted with Morrigan..." I heard Alistair mutter, and I giggled again, causing him to blush, and Moses' glare to harden.

"Well, whatever reason," the elf said, clapping his hands together and standing, "she's here, and she's stuck with us, so get over it, Fletcher." Oh, so Moses' real name was Fletcher...okay. Fletcher just snarled at him, then walked around us to stand by Morrigan. Huh. When did she get there?

"Well, I'm Darien, Kat," the elf said, grinning impishly as he and Alistair helped me stand, "and the strawberry-blond beside you is Alistair. Ser Grumpy-Pants over there is Fletcher, and standing next to him is Morrigan. The three of us are Grey Wardens, and Morrigan is a Witch of the Wilds!" He waved his hand lightly as he dipped into a bow, causing me to laugh again.

"It's very nice to meet you," I said, turning to each in turn, blushing lightly as I met Alistair's eyes again, "Where exactly are you all headed?" I was curious as to how far in the story I had been flung. I didn't see Ser Jory or Daveth, but since Darien and Fletcher were there, I didn't know what to think.

"We are about a half-day's journey to Lothering," Morrigan stated, startling me, "We would have made it by tonight had Alistair not found you and thrown us off track. Now, 'tis too late for travel, we must set up camp." She snuffed at me before turning away, beginning to set up her space in the clearing nearby. Okay, Lothering...so Ostagar had already passed...I felt a pang in my heart, but didn't register why I did, guessing it was because I knew what had happened there...and what would be found once it was returned to...

"We couldn't just leave her there!" Alistair protested, glaring at Morrigan, "The darkspawn may already be on their way! She would've been dead, or worse, if we just abandoned her!" I blushed again - Damn, I was doing that a lot today! - smiling lightly at him through the corner of my green eyes.

"Well, we should start setting up!" Darien said, heading over to start a fire and set up bedrolls. Alistair and I glanced at each other again, before turning to walk over to the others. Morrigan had already set up her camp area, reading through some book under her lean-to. Fletcher had set out his bedroll next to where I assumed the fire would be, as Darien just started dumping sticks into a pile there. Alistair moved away - I hadn't noticed his hand had been on my back until he moved it - to set up his own bedroll not too far from the would-be fire, but close enough to feel its warmth. Darien turned to me suddenly, leaving Fletcher to deal with the fire.

"I'll take first watch, so you just take my bedroll tonight, okay?" he said, smiling as he lead me over and plopped me down. I jumped a little, surprised by the sudden drop.

"Um, thank you, but won't you need it?" Darien shook his head, sending me a smile that would dazzle most girls tougher than I.

"I'll just switch with whoever takes the next watch! Good night!" He winked at me quickly, then turned to sit on the log by the fire. I glanced at the others; the only one who noticed was Alistair, who smiled and came over to me with some bread and... cheese?

"Here," he said, placing the food in my hands, "you need to eat. Don't worry about watch, either. We'll take care of it, you just get some rest, okay?" I smiled for a moment, nibbling on the bread like a chipmunk.

"You sure?" I asked, looking up at him as he ate his own cheese, "I don't want to be a burden..." He shook his head quickly.

"Nonsense, you're perfectly fine...just ignore those two," he gestured to the mages, "By the way, can you use any weapons? Bow and arrow, perhaps?" I nearly choked on my bread.

"Maker, you don't want to see me with a bow and arrow!" I laughed, holding my face in my hands. Gaelan had tried to teach me once or twice, and I'd barely been able to shoot with a training bow, let alone a real one. "I'm not so terrible with daggers, though..." That, actually, was true; I had bought myself a set after I first played the game, as all my characters were rouges, and I had even found a teacher to train me with the weapons, as well as learning how to pick locks and hide amongst the shadows. Alistair laughed, passing me his waterskin, which I gladly accepted.

"Well, it's good you can defend yourself, and um, one more thing?" I looked at him, raising my brow at his slightly guilty look. "...Please tell me you know how to cook?" My eyebrows lifted almost into my hair, and I crossed my arms and turned towards him, looking dead into his honey-gold eyes.

"With what my mother makes for us, I _had_ to learn..." We both laughed, talking a little while longer before we both headed to bed. I laid down in the bedroll, staring up at the stars for a moment, as I had often done before.

_Well, Dad, looks like I've got a lot to deal with now..._ I thought, turning onto my side as I felt sleep wash over me.

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**A/n: Well, there it is. The first real chapter! R & R, please! Do it, or Ser Pounce-A-Lot gets it! :3**

** OH! By the way, THERE IS FORESHADOWING IN THIS CHAPTER! Feel free to guess what/where it is, but I won't be able to tell you what it means! (Virtual cookiesfor anyone who guesses right!)**


	3. RuhRoh, Double Trouble!

**A/n: Heyy, it's me again! I'm hoping to update this at least 2 more times before school starts (this one included) but it may be a bit hard; I recently joined my school's marching band for my senior year (I play synth in the pit!) and for the next week or so, I've got practice from 9 to 9 monday through thursday. We've had 9 to 5 (_just_ for percussion) every day this week, and sunday is my first day off (and I'm havng to go get my physical done). Charlette Cheshire is (one of) my section leader(s), so she's been helping beta when we both weren't exhausted (THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH!) Well, here's the chapter (after soooooo long!) lol ENJOY!**

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I could see a younger version of myself, sitting on my front porch. I was crying, hugging the rabbit doll my dad had bought for me long ago. I remembered this; this was the day my dad left. My mother sat on the other side of the window, just close enough to the glass for me to see her with unshed tears in her eyes as he said goodbye to the twins, only two years old then.

_"Why was I having this memory return now?"_ I thought, glancing back to the six year old on the porch who was now attempting to dry her eyes on the rabbit's floppy ears; _"What purpose does it have for me to remember this now, after twelve years?"_ Finally, through my peripheral vision, I could see the shadow of my parents kissing goodbye, before my father walked out of the room.

I started as the door opened, even though I knew it was coming. My phantom form stopped crying, correcting her posture as she faced dead ahead. I looked to my father - wait, why can't i see him? There was a man in the door, yes, and he moved to sit beside the little girl just as my father had, but he wasn't..._significant_; merely, a blurry sillouette against the vibrancy that was my home, my memories. I shook the thoughts from my head, returning to the image before me.

"Why do you have to go?" the girl whispered, still having not turned towards my father. He chuckled humorlessly, adjusting himself to sit just as she was.

"Daddy has very important business to do, sweetheart," he said, glancing back down at the child, "Something very big is going to happen, and I'm needed to help fix it."

"Will you come back soon?" An awkward pause followed.

"...I don't know, luv..." he whispered, dropping his gaze to his lap, "But, I do know that I need my little girl to take care of her mother and Basil and Rosemary while I'm gone." I felt guilty at that last comment, thinking back to the fight my mom and I had before I was dropped into this place, and every one we've had before that. I saw her turn to Father, throwing her tiny arms around his neck and burying her face in his shoulder.

"...I love you, Daddy..." she whispered,and I felt my throat close up and tears form in my eyes; he hugged her back, kissing her hair.

"I love you too, Kitty-Kat..."

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~xXx~ **(a/n: charlette cheshire, i have stolen your squiggle! muahahaha!)** ~xXx~

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The next morning, we ate a small breakfast before packing up and beginning to head out. No one really spoke, except Darien - who never shuts up, as I was quick to learn - who kept telling me about gathering the armies and defeating the archdemon. I nodded politely with him, shifting my gaze over to Alistair most of the time; his head hung as we trudged on, more than likely thinking on Ostagar, and the loss of his father figure.

_Speaking of fathers..._ I thought back to my dream, my memory. Why _would_ I remember such a thing after all these years? _Maybe it was the thought of all those people lost at the battle, how many of them had husbands and wives and children...How Alistair himself lost Duncan, and how I know more than I _should_ at this point... _I stopped paying attention to Darien, (not that he noticed, anyhow), playing the memory in my head over and over...

_...Why can't I remember what he _looked_ like?..._

After a while of walking, we slowed to a stop, suddenly. I looked up from my feet to see - wait, _two_ mabaris running towards us? Isn't it supposed to be only one? I couldn't give it too much thought, though, for running up behind them were something I _had_ expected: darkspawn. The others started unsheathing their weapons as the dogs ran to a stop before us; one of the dogs - a black one, strangely - sniffed my leg carefully before turning to stand in front of me, snarling at the upcoming darkspawn.

"Just stay back here with the others, okay?" Alistair said, stepping in front of the hound and me, "We'll take care of the darkspawn." I nodded quickly, turning and running to get behind Morrigan and Fletcher, both of whom glared at me as I did so.

"'Tis ridiculous to have someone around who cannot defend themselves," Morrigan grumbled, rolling her eyes and facing the darkspawn.

"Useless..." I heard Fletcher mutter, but I paid no heed, hiding myself among the bushes; from what I could recall of this part, since I hardly ever had to fight for my mabari (I almost _exclusively_ used the human noble origin), there were no rouges that would come out at attack me from there. Alistair and Darien charged, lashing at every darkspawn that was unfortunate enough to cross their path. Fletcher and Morrigan stayed back, shooting ice spells and Crushing Prison to keep the others from being overwhelmed. The brown mabari fought alongside Darien, working with his every movement to take down their foes together; the other mabari, I now noticed, had come to stand closer to the bush I was hidden in, growling and lunging whenever the darkspawn came too close to us.

_Wait, what's that?_ I turned my head slightly to see a hurlock coming towards me from the side; I could see its eyes from here: those bloodshot, yellowing eyes... Before any other thoughts could cross my mind, however, the mabari attacked, attaching itself to the darkpawn's neck before tearing its throat out. I shut my eyes tight, pulling my knees up to my face as I tried to block the image from my mind.

_The game sure didn't prepare me for _this_! _I mentally screamed, attempting not to smell the rotten flesh or coppery ichor of the - now dead - darkspawn before me. (As most of you already know, the game doesn't show all the cuts and bruises, or the rotting flesh on corpses, or just how _gruesome_ the fighting against these creatures really would be. Not to mention, you can't smell, taste, or feel anything that goes on while you're playing...Needless to say, it was _not_ the most pleasant experience.)

At some point during my thoughts, the fight before me had ended, and the black mabari had come back to sniff me again. I slowly crawled out of the bushes, sitting myself in front of the hound to pet it; it seemed harmless at that point, but it was hard to tell - I've always been more of a cat person. Soon, though, the dog gave a smile - can dogs smile? - and barked happily, licking my face a couple of times and making me laugh.

"You okay?" Alistair asked as he walked up; I smiled up at him, scratching the dog behind the ears before standing.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I replied, gesturing behind me, "Thanks to this little pup, I was perfectly safe." The hound barked again, sitting itself - was it a boy or girl? - down at my feet. Alistair looked confused for a moment, staring down into it's big, brown eyes.

"Hey, you guys," he said, calling the others over, "isn't this one of the mabaris that was at Ostagar?" Fletcher glanced over for a second, then scoffed and turned back to Morrigan. Darien walked up to us, the other hound following him in the same manner as the black one; he smiled, patting my head as he came to a stop.

"Yeah, I think it is," he said, grinning bigger, "and I think she might have imprinted on little Miss Kat here..." He pet the dog beside me, chuckling as she growled at him. I rolled my eyes, looking pointedly at the hound behind him.

"Well, if she's imprinted on me, then _that_ one's imprinted on you, too." He stopped, turning to smile at the brown mabari.

"Huh, it seems he has, hasn't he?" He scratched him behind the ears, getting down to rub his belly when he flopped over. I heard Morrigan groan behind him.

"Must we bring along such filthy mutts?" she complained, looking at the display in disgust, "'Tis troublesome enough with one useless person in our, ugh, _group_, we do not need two _mutts_, as well." I rolled my eyes again, squatting back down to pet - I guess, _my_ - mabari. She smiled again, as well as any dog can, licking my cheek again.

"Well, it's too late now!" Darien exclaimed, standing up triumphantly - though what he may have accomplished, I hadn't the slightest clue, "They're ours now, and they're coming with us!" Both dogs barked enthusiastically with him, running circles around each of us. I laughed with them, standing up again.

"Well, then you'll have to name them," Alistair said, smiling at us and completely ignoring the two sour-pusses behind him. I thought for a moment; _I _could_ name her after Gaelan..._ I thought, but then shook my head, _Nah, that might get confusing, plus, Gaelan seems more bird-like..._ I started thinking Greek Mythology, then through some of my favorite books, snapping my fingers as I came to a decision.

"How about Hedwig?" I said, looking into my mabari's eyes. She barked in approval (at least, that's what it looked like, since she was smiling again - how do dogs smile like that so much?). I rubbed her fuzzy head, then looked over at Darien, "What about yours?" He frowned a little - whoa, didn't know it was possible! - and put a finger to his chin as he thought; he shrugged after a while, turning back to me.

"I've got nothing, any suggestions?" I thought back through mythology, of all the gods and heroes I read about all the time. _Apollo would work_, I thought, _But then again, so would Zeus. Ares? Orion? Herakles? Perseus? Hades, even? Hmm, what would be _best_, though?..._ Finally, I nodded, looking up to him with my decision.

"How about Odysseus?" I said, gaining confused looks, "Um, I think it means 'odyssey' or 'journey', which is what we're on, so..." I faded out, blushing brightly. Darien smiled, pumping his fist in the air.

"I love it!" he said, turning to his new partner, "How about you, pal?" Odysseus barked happily, chasing his tail a few times.

"Amazing," Morrigan said, "we now have two dogs with us, and Alistair's _still_ the dumbest one here." Alistair glared at her and Fletcher's smirking faces, and I tried not to smile myself, feeling relief at the return to the normal banter. I clapped my hands together, looking at everyone quickly.

"Well, let's get a move on, then," I said, walking ahead with Hedwig at my heels, "We've got a lot of ground to cover if we don't wanna have to stop again before Lothering." The others nodded (with the exception of two - not the dogs - who rolled their eyes yet again) and picked up their bags. Alistair walked up beside me, smiling a bit through the sadness in his eyes, he was still mourning. I smiled back, before turning ahead as we continued on out journey.

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**A/n: Well, there's the chapter for you! It is now 11:30pm on Sunday, and I have a 12 hour day tomorrow at band camp, so I won't be updating for a little while...**

**BTW, if you haven't guessed the forwshadowing from last chapter, I won't be giving the answer out untill _after_ that part in the story, but if anyone gets it right before hand, they will get virtual cookies AND a virtual plushie of whatever DA character they wish!**

**REVIEWS MAKE ME HAPPY! A HAPPY AUTHORESS WRITES BETTER CHAPTERS! HELP THIS AUTHORESS BECOME BETTER BY REVIEWING MY STORY! PLEASE! ...no flames, por favor! :3**


	4. Hey Look, a Dead Guy

**A/n: Well, I'm back! I managed to survive four 12 hour days at marching band camp! Hooray for me! (Though, by the time we performed, I _seriously_ had to pee, since I hadn't since 6am...the thought never crossed my mind, okay?...no comment, please) Well, I've been working on this - trying to be as accurate as possible - just for you guys! Please, enjoy!**

**BTW: for those of you who like to "stalk" your friends at school or whatever, if you actually WANT to freak them out, DON'T TELL THEM YOU'RE STALKING THEM! IT ALWAYS FAILS! SO DOES WEARING NEON YELLOW SHIRTS IN BROAD DAYLIGHT! lol, just saying...**

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As we came closer to our destination, I realized something of rather great importance:_ Holy shit, we're about to fight some bandits, and I've got no weapons!_ Yeah, that's some real intelligent thinking right there, huh?

I could see some small specks - people and boxes - up ahead, and I slowed my pace, allowing Darien and Odysseus (or Odie, as he has been nick-named) to pass myself and Hedwig. He gave me a questioning look, then shrugged and turned back to face ahead. We neared the outpost and I could see the bandits lounging about, scattered between the crates and boxes. Off to the side, I could also see the dead Templar - Ser...Henric, I believe - lying in a puddle of dried blood. The leader looked up just as we approached, plastering a smile on his face as he stood.

"Wake up, gentlemen," he said, strolling toward our little group, "More travelers to attend to, and led by an _elf_, of all things." The other bandits stood, closing in from the front, with a straggler or two behind us. Darien chuckled, that impish grin engraved in his features.

"Well, I certainly don't _remember_ being made the leader, but I won't argue if that's what you think," he said, a mischievous glint flashing in his eyes. One of the others, the dumb one, looked over us quickly, before turning to the leader.

"Uhhhhhhh," he started, and it took all I had to keep from rolling my eyes, "They don't look much like them others, no...Uh, maybe we should just let these ones pass."

"Nonsense", the leader waved him off, turning back to Darien, "Greetings, travelers!" I felt a shiver run up my spine, and looked over to see one of the other bandits leering at me; I could practically feel his eyes boring holes in my skinny jeans - which meant they probably really _were_ too skinny... I averted my gaze quickly, taking a step closer to Alistair while Hedwig growled at the man.

"Highwaymen," Alistair whispered to us, "Praying on those fleeing the darkspawn, I suppose." Morrigan rolled her eyes.

"They are fools to get in our way," she said, speaking mainly to Fletcher, who nodded, "I say teach them a lesson." The leader kept smiling at us, though his left eye twitched a bit - _that_ was new.

"Now is _that_ any way to greet someone?" he tsked, "A simple ten silvers, and you're free to move on." I scoffed, drawing more attention to myself than I meant to.

"'Ya know," I said, sending a challenging glare his way, "you should _really_ listen to your friend there. We aren't refugees." The leader smirked at me, running his gaze down my form; I felt the hair on the back of my neck raise, and I quickly took another step towards Alistair.

"What did I tell you?" the dumb one said, "No wagons, and this one looks armed." He gestured to Darien, whose axe was showing over his back.

"The toll applies to everyone, Hanrich," he replied - though I really didn't catch the name, "that's why it's a _toll_, and not, say, a _refugee tax_."

"Ooohhhhh, right," Hanrich - I think - responded, "Even if you're no refugee, ya still go'ha pay!" Darien laughed, shaking his head.

"You've got a funny accent, my friend," he said, "Did'ya know that?" I inwardly groaned, deciding to speak out again.

"Forget it, bub, we aren't paying." His eyes flickered back over to me, but this time I stood my ground; I refused to look weak any longer, even if these guys creeped me out... The leader faked a sigh.

"Well, can't say I'm pleased to hear that;we have rules, you know?" Hanrich laughed.

"Right, we get to ransack your corpse, then. Those are the rules." I saw Alistair tense a little, taking a small step in front of me and causing me to blush; _when did I become the damsel in distress?...Oh, yeah, I don't have weapons!_

"Do you really want to fight three Grey Wardens?" he growled, pulling out his sword and shield. The bandits all went wide-eyed, though I couldn't tell if it was because of what Alistair said or did.

"Did he say he's a Grey Warden?" Hanrich looked over at their leader again, "Them ones killed the king!" Their little ringleader - as this was much beginning to remind me of a circus - nodded, putting a hand to his chin in false thought.

"Traitors to Fereldan, I hear; Teyrn Loghain put _quite_ a bounty on any who are found." I could see both Darien and Alistair tense at the mention of the true traitor's actions, and wondered briefly if I should find a hiding spot while they duke it out.

"But, aren't them Grey Wardens good?" I turned back to see Hanrich with the most confused look on his face, "I mean, really good? Good enough to kill a king?" The leader - _man, that's getting annoying, so I'm just gonna call him Bob_ - looked like he was about to anime sweatdrop, turning a faint greenish color.

"Y-You have a point," _Bob_ replied - _see, _much_ better, right?_ - turning back to us, "Weeelll, let's forget about the toll; we'll just leave you to your darkspawn-fighting, king-killing ways." Darien, Alistair, and I all looked at each other, as if having a secret agreement, then we turned back to Bob.

"Actually," Darien drawled as he pulled out his weapon, "let's add 'bandit-slaying' to the list." Bob flinched a little, but smirked and shrugged his shoulders.

"And just when we had things settled." It took about two seconds for the bandits to unsheath their weapons and start attacking us. I felt one of them grab me from behind, both of his daggers in one hand while the other reached to grope at my chest. I growled and snapped my head back, smashing into his nose; he cried out, clutching at his face and dropping his weapons. Quickly, I turned and kneed him where it hurts before picking up the forgotten daggers on the ground.

"I suggest you keep your hands to yourself," I threatened, facing him, "or you may just lose them." He growled, ignoring my threat and lunging and knocking me onto the ground. I struggled out of his grasp, lifting my legs to kick him in the face before rolling away. I stood, and quickly swung at him as he charged at me, slicing halfway through his throat; he fell to the ground, almost instantly dead.

I turned to see the others fighting off the other bandits, and was about to join in right when Bob started waving his arms and shouting.

"All right! We surrender!" he said, and we gathered around him while the remaining bandits hid behind their leader, "We-We-We're just trying to get by, before the darkspawn get us all!"

"Get by?" I said, stepping up in between Alistair and Darien with Hedwig at my feet, You're a criminal!" Bob rolled his frightened eyes.

"Yes, I'm a criminal; I apologize." I scoffed, glaring at the terrified man before me.

"Hand over everything you've stolen," I demanded, pointing my dagger at his throat; he nodded nervously.

"Yes! Yes, of course. The coins we collected are right here..." he pushed the pouch into my hand, "Just over a hundred silvers. The rest is in the chest we brought! I swear!" I pocketed the pouch, then looked over my shoulder to the rest of our little party.

"These guys kinda piss me off," Darien said, crossing his arms. Alistair nodded in agreement.

"They shouldn't get away with this," Alistair said, "They're stealing from innocents." I smirked and turned back to Bob, shifting my weight to one hip.

"Sorry, pal," I said, twirling the dagger in my right hand, "but after all this, you really don't deserve any mercy." Bob staggered back, but quickly lifted his weapons up again.

"I'm not giving up without a fight!" He charged at me, catching me off guard, but right as he swung, Hedwig knocked him to the ground, ripping into the flesh of his neck and shoulder. I quickly turned to my left, slashing at the bandit about to attack Alistair; he seemed surprised for a moment, but then sent me a thankful smile before running to the remaining enemies behind us.

~xXx~

Before I knew it, everything was over; the fighting had stopped, with all of us trying to catch our breath. Suddenly, it hit me: _Oh my god, I just _killed_ someone..._ I froze, not hearing the words exchanged between my companions;_ I-I can't believe...But, it doesn't count, right? I mean, it's _just_ a video game...right? Holy shit..._

"Kat?" I heard someone say, but didn't register who. I began to sway on my feet, feeling the weapons slipping from my grasp. Hands grabbed onto my shoulders as I sank to my knees.

"Kat, breathe!" Alistair's voice rang in my ears as I began to regain sense of my surroundings; when had I started to hyperventilate? A hand began rubbing circles on my back, and with it, I felt myself calm down enough to breathe normally again. Darien chuckled a little and kneeled down to look me in the eyes.

"Never killed anyone before, have you?" My face paled slightly as I shook my head; I could hear Fletcher and Morrigan scoff. Darien nodded, smiling at me before patting my hair.

"Yeah, I had the same reaction back in Denerim before joining the Wardens," _Denerim? Oh, so he's the City Elf origin..._ "I was having to get married - arranged marriage, of course - and all the girls, including my cousin, Shianni, were taken to the Arl's palace for a..._party_..." He paused, clenching his fist tightly.

"Soris, my other cousin, and I went in after them; we knew what would happen if we were too late, so we hurried as fast as we could. We killed every guard in our way, doing whatever it took to find everyone before..." He shook the thought from his head, and I felt my heart pang with guilt; _Good grief, he's gone through all this, and I'm sitting here going into shock and feeling sorry for myself...Worst of all, I KNEW he had lost at least SOMETHING, because of his origin...I'm just awful..._

"We were almost to the Arl's son's room, looting what we could on the way, when we found my old friend, Nola, dead on the ground and surrounded by guards...One of them was saying she's 'still warm' and asking about how picky the others were... There wasn't much else to do except get rid of the guards and keep going. When we finally found the room, it was too late for Shianni...She was alive, yes, but... I took off Vaughn's head while Soris got rid of the guards. Most of the other girls were okay, only Nola had been killed. Once we got back to the Alienage, I started going into shock, just like you just did. It took about an hour to get myself over it, but by the time I had, the guards had shown up to arrest me, since I took all the blame. Duncan stepped in before they could do anything and conscripted me; after that, I said my goodbyes to my family and friends, then started my way towards Ostagar." I nodded again, watching as the sadness disappeared from his eyes and his trademark grin fall back into place.

"..I'm sorry..." I whispered, feeling heat rush to my cheeks. Darien shook his head as he and Alistair pulled me to my feet.

"No worries," he chuckled, ruffling my hair, "Just make sure you don't get like that with the darkspawn!" I laughed a little, reaching to pet Hedwig as she licked my hand. I looked up at Alistair, smiling at the gentle look he was giving me. I turned back to Darien, feeling my whole demeanor brighten.

"Well, what are we waiting for then?" I said, stepping over to take some more coin pouches our of Bob's pockets, gaining some strange looks from the others, "Lothering's not gonna wait for us forever, so let's grab what we can and get going!"

* * *

**A/n: Quick note: I've never played as a male city elf, so all info I got for this was from the Dragon Age wikia... Let me know what you all think (NO FLAMES, s'il vous plait!) Hope you all enjoyed!**

**BTW, I plan on making it a point to mention my best friend every time, seeing as she pointed it out to me earlier that i mentioned her in every chapter except this one, soooo...CHARLETTE CHESHIRE!  
**


	5. Napolen Complexes and Over 9000 Quests!

**A/n: Jeez, I can't believe my senior year is starting... it seems like yesterday I was taking a nap in kindergarten...oh wait, I _did_ take a nap yesterday... (I just wasn't in kindergarden...). lol, well, here's chapter 4; It's not much - I wanted to get at least part of it out, if not all of Lothering - so I got as much as I could.**

* * *

We arrived in Lothering around late afternoon, and again, it wasn't exactly what I had expected; a video game can only show so much, after all. The almost-setting sun was mostly blocked by clouds, making everything beneath it seem dreary. There wasn't much grass, from what I could see, and what was there was rugged, yellowing in places. The buildings were nearly run-down, made of worn, sun-dried wood. There were refugees everywhere, scattered between the tents on my right, running around near an incredibly tall building - the Chantry, I assumed - and even some stumbling in and out of another building across the bridge, which was probably the tavern. There were a few Templars over near the chantry, helping the chanters with their duties, while making sure there was no fighting between the refugees. I could hear people chatting, yelling, moaning in pain; I even heard the sounds of crickets beginning their songs, and could smell the smoke and meats from the fire by the tents.

"Well, there it is," Alistair sighed, "Lothering. Pretty as a painting."

"Ah, so you've finally decided to rejoin us, have you?" Fletcher asked; Morrigan smirked beside him.

"Yes, falling on your blade in grief seemed like too much trouble, I take it?" Alistair growled a little, glaring at the two.

"Is my being upset so hard to believe?" he demanded, "Have you never lost someone important to you? Just what would you do if your mother died?"

"Before or after I stopped laughing?" Darien laughed a little as I rolled my eyes; _Good grief, don't they ever stop?_

"Right. Very creepy. Forget I asked." Alistair crossed his arms, looking back out at the scene before us. Darien and I shared a look, before turning back to the others.

"You _have _been kind of quiet, Alistair," Darien said, resting a hand on his shoulder. I walked up beside them, turning to face the strawberry-blond.

"...Anything you want to talk about?" He glanced at me, his honey-amber eyes the open windows to his emotions. Morrigan scoffed, drawing our attention.

"His naval, I suspect," she sneered, "He certainly has been contemplating it for long enough." I shook my head, pinching the bridge of my nose as Alistair turned to argue.

"Oh, I get it," he said, throwing his arms in the air, "This is the part where we're shocked to discover how you've never had a friend your entire life." She frowned.

"_I _can be friendly when I _desire_ to. Alas, desiring to be more_ intelligent_ does not make it so." They continued to glare at each other, and I could almost _see_ the electricity flowing, not unlike that between Harry Potter and Voldemort in the final battle at Hogwarts in the 7th movie..._Or was it the 8th?_ I cleared my throat loudly, pulling them both from their intense staring contest.

"Anyway..."Alistair continued, giving Morrigan one more quick glare, "I thought we should talk about where we intend to go, first." Darien tilted his head in confusion.

"Shouldn't we do something about these treaties?" Alistair nodded in reply.

"Yes, have either of you looked at them?" Fletcher rolled his eyes.

"Of course."

"...Umm, sort of..." Darien said, a sheepish look on his face. I gave them a confused look; even though I already knew everything about this, I couldn't let _them_ know that. Alistair glanced at me, then turned back to the others.

"There are three main groups that we have treaties for," he stated, "The Dalish elves, the dwarves of Orzammar, and the Circle of Magi. I also still think that Arl Eamon is our best bet for help; we might even want to go to him first." I nodded a little with him, though my mind was going in a slightly different direction.

_Arl Eamon? That's in Redcliffe, where Alistair tells the truth about his heritage...That's probably not the _best_ place to start, considering my _own_ secret..._

"Can't we find a way to contact the other Grey Wardens?" Darien said, pulling me from my train of thought. Alistair shook his head.

"Short of leaving Fereldan to seek them out, the only place to send word to would be Weisshaupt Fortress, and that's thousands of miles away."

"Okay, well, then what do we do?" Darien asked, and they turned to me; I froze, looking back and forth between the two of them with wide eyes.

"Wait, why are you guys leaving it up to me?" _Isn't it supposed to be one of the Wardens who leads? What's going on? I thought it was supposed to be the Grey Warden, not someone else, that was the leader__... Though, I suppose I _would_ be considered the "PC", wouldn't I?..._

"Yes, why _are_ you leaving it up to her?" Morrigan sneered, rolling her eyes at us, though only Fletcher and I noticed.

"Well, I don't know where we should go, I'll do whatever you decide." Alistair said, shrugging with...was that a _blush_?

"Now _that_ is unsurprising," Fletcher mumbled.

"Arl Eamon is a good man, but I don't know for sure if he's where we should go; I'm not going to fight about it."

"Yeah, plus, you really took charge against those bandits," Darien smiled again, "You're tougher than you look, Kat; own up to it." I blushed and nodded, crossing my arms.

"Alright, then we need to find these people." Everyone, (though, at this point, you know the two who aren't included, right?), nodded in agreement.

"I can give you directions, if you like," was Alistair's usual reply, and I nodded again, shifting my weight into my right hip.

"I'm pretty sure the dwarves are up in the Frostback Mountains, somewhere..." Darien suggested, scratching his head.

"And if we head eastward towards the Brecilian forest, we should hear word of one of the clans that wanders that area," Alistair continued, "Hopefully, they will still be there..."

"I think the Circle is on Lake Calenhad, not too far from Redcliffe," Darien exclaimed, his blue eyes wide with excitement - though, why, I didn't know.

"And what about this Loghain?" I asked, lowering my voice slightly just-in case, "Where would he be?" Their faces darkened.

"If he isn't going to be with his army, he'd probably be at the palace in Denerim," Alistair whispered, "We can go there, but somehow I suspect that they're not going to just_ let_ us walk around... Only a suspicion, of course." _Right, of course,_ I thought, _because everybody thinks the Grey Wardens killed Cailan...that's a bit of an issue, isn't it?..._

"Okay then," I nodded after a moment, scratching Hedwig behind her ears with a small smile. Darien's eyes widened, and I _swear_ his ears perked up a bit as well.

"So you've got a plan?" I smiled, turning to face the village again.

"Let's get a move on." I looked over my shoulder, ignoring Fletcher and Morrigan scoffing and rolling their eyes. The two warriors grinned, walking up to stand beside me.

"Fair enough," Alistair agreed, 'Let's he-"

"What are we waiting for?!" Darien said, running down the steps, Odie at his heals, "Let's get going already!" I rolled my eyes, lightly skipping down the steps behind my new friend.

~xOx~ **(There, how's that, Char?)** ~oXo~

_Wow, talk about awkward..._ I shivered slightly under the scrutinizing gazes of the refugees. Sure, I'm used to people looking at me strangely and glaring, but this was a little different from school...Okay, a _lot_ different from school; I'd never had people stare at me _this_ intensely before. If it wasn't distrust or apprehension, it was lust - I _really_ needed to find something to wear besides these jeans!

I grabbed what little things I could from the broken crates around us; amazing how no one noticed it, considering all eyes were on me. I felt kind of guilty, but I knew we'd need these things in order to keep going: elfroots, health poultices, even a few coppers. Finally, I came across a crate near an empty tent that I didn't recognize. No one was around, so I opened the crate and, lo and behold, I found something: a cream-colored, button-up shirt, some olive-green shorts with a rope belt, a brown cincher, and some brown boots with cream color on top.

"Hey, that's neat," Darien said, startling me as he popped up beside me, "But why would you need that?"

"Yes, why _would_ she?" Fletcher remarked, rolling his eyes, "It's not like she _sticks out_, or anything." Hedwig growled in warning to him as I shook my head.

"Says the guy with the mage's staff on his back," I mumbled, turning back to the clothes in my hands as Darien chuckled at my remark. _I _did_ say I needed new clothes_... I shrugged, picking them up and shoving them in the bag I swiped off the bandits. I turned to walk in the direction of the tavern, completely ignoring the (rather annoying) farmer near the town's entrance.

"So, _Kat_," Darien drawled, strolling along beside me with a sly grin on his face, "Where's a girl get a name like _that_?"

"I must admit, I am rather curious, myself," Alistair shrugged, scratching the back of his head lightly. I rolled my eyes, turning to smirk at them.

"For you information, my dad gave me that _nickname_ when I was born," I sighed, the faceless image of my father making its way back to the fore-front of my mind, "_Why_, however, is for me to know, and you to - _maybe_ - find out." I turned back, looking around for another crate when I spotted the elven family standing by the stream. I started walking towards them, feeling my heart ache to see such tormented expressions on their faces - especially since I could really _see_ their faces here.

"E-Excuse me, miss?" the man stammered, gaining the attention of his wife and daughter as I reached them; the others stood a bit back, leaving me to handle this while they observed - _why would they wanna watch this?_

"Yes, can I help you?" I asked, looking into their melancholy faces... _Man, either this guy is really tall for an elf, or I'm just_ really_ short..._

"Do you think you could spare some food?" he asked, pulling his wife close as his daughter stood up to look at me better; her little blue eyes sparkled with unshed tears and I felt my heart begin to break.

"What happened to all of you?" I whispered, looking back up at the elven man.

"The bandits back at the entrance demanded a toll we couldn't afford," he replied, "So to 'compensate', they took all of our belongings..." My brows furrowed and I frowned, nibbling slightly on my lower lip.

"You mean the bandits that used to be up on the highway?" I asked, and they gasped.

"_Used_ to? Then they're gone?" the man asked. I nodded.

"Then that's wonderful news," his wife said, smiling up at him, "Perhaps our things are still there!" She turned to me, a grateful look on her face.

"Thank you so much," she whispered, then they quickly made their way to look for their belongings. I smiled to their retreating figures, then turned around to come face-to-face with Darien... _Umm, a little _too_ close, Dude..._

"What?" I asked, and he shrugged, turning to walk towards the chantry. The others had already begun heading up, but had stopped when they noticed one of the chantry sisters arguing with a merchant.

"What do you think's going on?" Alistair asked, and I shrugged.

"Whatever it is, it can't be good," I shook my head, walking over to where the two fighting.

"You can't just raise the prices like this, these people are refugees! And even if they weren't, no one can afford it!" The man scoffed, rolling his eyes at the woman.

"Ye really think I care? I'm here ta make a profit, sister, not lose money over some lazy refugees." I sighed, feeling my eyes roll backwards into my head. _Ugh! This is going to be a _looooooooooooooong_ day..._

~xOx~ * ~oXo~

So after settling _that_ dispute as peacefully as possible, we continued on over to the bridge, sending the little boy waiting there to the Chantry as we reached him; I felt sorry that _that _was all we could really do for them, after all he'd gone through. As we stepped onto the bridge, I looked back to the glance at the chanter's board; since I knew that we'd need as much money as we could to keep ourselves safe, fed, and _alive_, I swiftly turned the guys around and pushed them over towards the Chantry, sending them off on the mini quests while Morrigan and I stayed to handle the other affairs in town. Alistair and Darien tried to argue, but we simply agreed to meet back up at the tavern once everything was taken care of.

After waving them off, I quickly ran to a little crevice behind a house to change into my new clothes; the shorts were _much_ shorter than I originally thought, and I needed the corset to keep the shirt from just sliding off my body (it still fell off my shoulders, but at least my tank top covered everything), but aside from that, everything fit just fine - even the boots, which I was afraid would give me a more "Cinderellian" problem of not fitting...and I'm sure electric-blue high tops _don't_ match with military green shorts. I strapped my daggers onto my back, and another, smaller knife in another holster on my thigh - both of which I had bought from the merchant.

Then, Morrigan and I set out at began work on all the little Lothering quests: giving health poultices to Elder Miriam, sending off the poor, crazy man from outside the Chantry, and even talking with Sten and convincing him to join up with us after we managed to free him when the guys got back.

It was tiring, but we did it, and not a moment to soon, the guys started walking back up, the two warriors lightly covered in blood. We started heading over to the tavern, no one really saying a word; I chose to ignore the... _appreciative_ look Darien was giving me in my new outfit, though I didn't miss Alistair's cheeks flush right before he smacked him upside the head. _I'll take _that_ as a good sign..._

When we entered the overflowing tavern, I felt the air go chill, even with the fire blazing to my left. There were refugees everywhere: sitting quietly in the corner, eating small meals (if they could even be _called_ that) at the tables, or sprawled out on the floor - whether asleep, passed-out drunk, or dead, I couldn't tell. I could see a red-headed woman in a chantry sister's dress standing by the fire, observing us silently as we made our entrance; I knew who it was, though I couldn't really see her face to confirm it. However, she wasn't the only one to notice our little group; a couple of burly, drunken soldiers began stumbling towards us, the two in the back too hammered to even bother attempting to shift their gazes from my legs and waist...though I doubted they would have even if they were sober.

"Well, lookie here, boys," the first one slurred, "Weren't we askin' around fer a mage an' elf lookin' jus' like these?"

"Yeah, but we didn' know they'd be followin' behind a _'lil girl_, did we?" They all laughed, and I felt my face flush from both anger and embarrassment; despite the fact that I'm _almost_ average height back home, I had always been sensitive to those kind of words. I never liked feeling that I was short.

"Loghain's soldiers," Alistair whispered, "Not good..." My hands balled into fists as I glared into their drunken faces, my blood boiling even more when they merely smirked back.

"Look, _pal_," I spoke slowly through gritted teeth, "I suggest you turn and leave now; you have _no idea_ what you're getting into..." I could feel the others staring at me in almost disbelief, though I could understand why; since when have I ever been one to start a fight, especially with someone a head-and-a-half taller than me? _Curse my Napoleon complex!_

"Ha, nice try, _sweetheart_," the leader laughed, straightening up to tower over me, "but them Grey Wardens killed King Cailen, and Loghain's got a bounty out on the heads of any that survived Ostagar."

"Loghain _abandoned _the king, and left _everyone_ there to _die_!" Darien snarled, catching me off guard. _Holy crap, that's scary! Remind me _never_ to piss him off__..._

"Loghain pulled out to save us!" the blond in the back cried out, swaying on his feet as he reached for his sword. Suddenly, a figure appeared in a flash of red and pink between myself and the soldiers right as I reached for my daggers. _Lelianna!_

"Now now, no need for violence," she said in her French/Orlesian accent, "Can't we settle this peacefully and calmly?" I glared up into the eyes of the soldiers, searching for any sign of surrender.

"Sorry, but I think you got here a moment too late for that, Sister," I state calmly, getting into a fighting stance, "It's obvious these guys are too wasted to even think about backing down." The soldiers growled, reaching for their swords.

"That's it, men," the leader cried out, "Let's take care of these Wardens! Kill the sister, and anyone else that gets in your way! But leave the girl to me." I narrowed my eyes, but internally I gulped; sure, the guy was drunk, but he was still almost _twice_ my size. I unsheathed my daggers, managing to block just as he brought his sword down on me. I pushed him off, letting him fall onto his drunken ass.

_Well, this _may_ be easier than I thought... _I kicked the sword out of his hands and held a dagger to his neck; I had him cornered.

"Alright, alright!" he cried out, gaining the attention of the others and stopping the fight, "You win, okay?! We surrender!"

"Ah, so we can all stop fighting now?" Lelianna asked, smiling lightly as she sheathed her dagger and walked over to us. I glared down into the soldier's eyes.

"The teyrn was the one who betrayed the king, not the Wardens," I stated calmly, and he glowered at me.

"The teyrn pulled us out of a trap! The Grey Wardens lead King Cailen to his death! I was there!" I rolled my eyes, straightening up and sheathing my daggers.

"Take a message to Loghain," I said, "He'll get what's coming to him, soon enough." His eyes widened, and he nodded quickly.

"Yes, ma'am," he said. I crossed my arms, gesturing to the door with my head.

"Get out of my sight." He pushed himself off the ground quickly and ran out the door, with his men close behind. I sighed, brushing my hair out of my face before turning to face the bard.

"Well, _that_ was fun," I laughed lightly, pinching the bridge of my nose, "Where's a Sister learn to fight like that?" Lelianna giggled and shook her head.

"I wasn't _always_ a Sister of the Chantry," she replied, "nor were some others; some of us come from dark backgrounds." I nodded, smiling at her. "So, when are we heading out?"

"Whoa, wait," Darien stepped up next to me, glaring curiously at Lelianna, "Who said you were coming with us?" She smiled, and I stifled a laugh.

"Because the Maker told me to." Fletcher and Morrigan rolled their eyes, and Alistair and Darien just stared at her. I shook my head lightly, unable to wipe the smile off my face. _If they think _that's_ far-fetched, wait 'til they hear _my_ story..._

"Um, _okay_..." Darien finally stated, grabbing onto my shoulders and walking backwards, "This is where we slowly back away, and-"

"Wait, please," Lelianna interrupted, grasping one of Darien's hands in both her own, "I know it sounds crazy, but it's true! He came to me in a dream!" I shook Darien off, turning to look at the others.

"Come on, you guys," I said, gaining their attention, "I may not be the most _religious_ person in the world, but even _I'd_ take that as a good sign! Besides, it looks like she can hold her own, anyways, so why not?" Alistair and Darien thought about it, while the other two just stared at me like I'd suddenly grown a second head.

"Perhaps you hit your head harder than we thought," Fletcher stated, but I ignored it, in favor of turning back towards the bard.

"Welcome to our little group!" I said, throwing my arms out for emphasis. She smiled happliy at me, and I chuckled. "First order of business, since you're a Sister, maybe you can help us with something..."

**~xOx~ * ~oXo~**

"What?! We're bringing a _Qunari_ with us?!" I face-palmed, giving Darien a "DUH" look as I turned to face him.

"Yes, Darien, we're bringing _Sten_ along," I sighed, exasperated, "Do you have a _problem_ with that?" He sputtered, and I almost laughed; his cheeks turned fire-engine red.

"W-Well, yeah!" he said, and I rolled my eyes. Alistair looked cautiously between the two of us, while the more morbid two of our group watched Lelianna speaking animatedly with Sten about something.

"He has a point," Alistair jumped into our conversation, drawing both of our attention, "I mean, he's locked in a _cage_, for Andraste's sake!" I looked down at my feet for a moment, thinking it over. I began to doubt my decision, but then glanced over at the Qunari in his cage and my resolve strengthened; my mind was made up.

"But what good will it do to leave him here, _defenceless_, when the Darkspawn arrive?" I asked him, looking up into his honey-gold eyes with desperation plain on my features, "Besides, we need all the help we can get, right?" I didn't wait for his reply, walking over to the cage with the key the Revered Mother had given Lelianna and myself in my hand. He looked down on me, expressionless.

"You wish something more of me?" he asked, and I smiled gently.

"I have the key to open your cage," I responded, holding the small, brass key up for him to see. His eyes widened slightly, but his face hardly changed to show his slight surprise.

"I must confess, I did not believe the priestess would part with it." I shook my head, putting my arm down and stepping closer to the cage.

"She agreed to release you into the custody of my companions, the Grey Wardens." He straightened up a little, his eyes hardening.

"So be it." I nodded, turning the key in the lock and opening the cage. "It is done. I will follow you into battle, and shall find my atonement in doing so." I smiled, deciding not to reply.

"Alright, everyone," I called out as I turned around, "We've got a long journey ahead of us, so we had better get a move on. We're headed to the Brecilian Forest first, so we should try to get there before the Dalish migrate again." They all nodded in agreement, eager to get out of Lothering as soon as possible. I tossed the key onto the ground by the cage, then faced the town exit onto the Imperial Highway.

"Then let's get going, shall we?"

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**A/n: Okay, so I'm INCREDIBLY sorry it took so long, but to compensate, this chapter is now over 4,000 words! (ps, don't expect that too often - as much as I'd like to write longer chapters all the time for you wonderous readers, I dont have the time, so it'll only be for chapters with major plot points...) Anyways, please review (no flames), and I will do my very very best to update soon (meaning, before the holidays :D lol)**


	6. Rational Thinking Makes Me Sad

**A/n: HEY! Guess who's returned, after such a long time! Sorry it's taken so long - I've been doing not-so-well in some of my classes, so I had to focus on them, and then I had major writer's block...but now I'm BACK! lol, well, here's chapter 5; Origionally, I had had a different idea for how this should go, but the ending here came more naturally to me, so I hope you guys like it!**

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"Help! Someone help, please!" We could hear someone screaming down by the exit on the Imperial Highway.

"Sounds like someone's in trouble," Darien stated, and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at the obvious notion.

"There's darkspawn nearby," Alistair growled lightly, his hand reaching for the hilt of his sword. I nodded to him, trying to remember what exactly this was. _Oh yeah, this was when we meet those two dwarves! Oh, what were their names again? Brody? No. Sneazel? No, that's a Pokemon…Ugh…_

"That may be why someone's screaming for help," I pointed out, already beginning to head towards the voice.

"Hang on, Kat," Darien said, holding me back by my wrist, "I don't think you should get involved in this…"

"What are you saying?" I asked, wrenching my arm from his grasp, "I can handle it."

"I say let her," Fletcher smirked, "What better way for her to realize her own limitations?" I felt my cheeks puff out as my face flushed in aggravation.

"This is serious, Fletcher," Darien argued with a glare, "She could get hurt."

"What should it matter? She's a stranger; we don't even know her real name." I rolled my eyes, pulling my daggers out as I turned around.

"Alright, well, while _you guys_ fight over this pointless topic, _I'm_ gonna go and help whoever's in trouble over there…" With that, I ran up the steps, Hedwig and Alistair not far behind; thankfully, _he_ didn't decide to join the argument. Standing on the top stair, I could see maybe five or six darkspawn, including an emissary off to the side and an alpha about to attack the two dwarves to my left.

"Someone help us!" the bearded one yelled, backing into a crate. Quickly, I ran in front of him, slashing at any darkspawn that came too close.

It certainly got their attention…

Almost immediately, I was swarmed from every side, my nostrils filling with the smell of decaying, tainted flesh. I whipped my daggers around, decapitating one creature while merely wounding another.

Suddenly, I felt my body freeze; my arms locked by my sides, and I found it hard to breath. I heard a dark, gurgling laugh, and my eyes darted left to see the emissary pointing his staff at me, a bronze light glowing at its tip.

_Crushing prison..._

I tried desperately to break free, but to no avail; I couldn't move at all, not even the slightest twitch. And I wasn't the only one to notice. The hurlock alpha was blocking every attack Alistair sent him, his focus directed solely on me. He threw Alistair to the ground, and began to charge towards me.

I struggled harder to free myself, or at least my arm so I could lash out at him before his sword came crashing down on me. My head was spinning; all I could focus on was getting free. The fight around me was completely blurred, the only things visible being the alpha and the emmisary. I closed my eyes, a sense of dread washing over me.

_I really should've listened to Darien..._

Right as the alpha raised his greatsword to lob my head off, I could feel the pressure surrounding me suddenly give and I collapsed to the floor, the blade missing me by mere inches. Looking up, I could see the emissary fall with multiple arrows in his chest, as well as Darien - who had probably arrived while I was trapped under the spell - swooping in to knock the hurlok on the ground and decapitate him. The fight was finished.

"I don't want to say 'I told you so', but..." Darien started, but quickly shut up as I glared at him.

"Just help me up..." he smiled at me, rolling his eyes as he pulled me up. Alistair and Lelianna quickly joined us as Hedwig sat at my heels.

"Are you alright?" Alistair asked as his brow furrowed in concern. I nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I replied, turning to the bard with the bow attached to her back, "Thanks for that, by the way; I'd be dead by now if you hadn't killed him off when you did...You're a really good shot, ya know?" She blushed, shaking her head.

"It was nothing..."

"Well, I'd like to thank you lot for helpin' us out there," the dwarf said, walking over to where we were huddled. We turned to them, Darien pushing me to the front.

_Ok, so I guess I really _am_ the leader..._

"It was no problem, sir," I replied. He nodded, holding out his hand for me to shake. I noticed then his braided beard was a reddish-brown color - almost ginger, actually - and his eyes were a warm, friendly brown.

"Name's Bodahn Fedding," he said, and he gestured to the younger dwarf behind him, "and this is my son, Sandal. Say hello to the nice lady, Sandal." The boy shuffled his feet on the ground a moment, before shifting his big, round eyes to meet mine.

"Hello." Smiling, I grasped Bodahn's hand in mine, giving it as firm a shake as I could muster.

"I'm Kat, and these are my companions." I gestured behind me as they quickly introduced themselves. He nodded to each in turn, then looked back at me.

"Roads've been overrun by darkspawn these days," he said, "Might I ask where you lot're headin'? We may be headed the same way..." I shook my head.

"I'm afraid you wouldn't want to travel with us, ser," I replied, glancing back at my party, "Ya see, we're out on Grey Warden business - trying to stop the Blight and all." His eyes widened slightly and his face paled, and the air around us suddenly felt much more cold and tense. He shook his head lightly, faking a polite smile.

"Hmm, well, that does explain a lot..." He began walking back to his cart, placing some of his merchandise that hadn't broken back in their proper places. "No offense, but I'm afraid there's just too much excitement on your path than we could possibly handle. Allow me to bid you farewell and good fortune."

I nodded, turning to sift through the broken crates that he seemed to be avoiding; I managed to find a few more coppers, as well as a health poultice and the little statue that could be given as a gift in the game. I turned back to rejoin my group when I tripped over one of the darkspawn, knocking a gold piece out of its pocket. I groaned.

"Why would a darkspawn need to carry money?!" I cried, banging my head lightly on the stone ground. Darien and Lelianna laughed, and Alistair just shook his head, a goofy smile just barely hidden on his face; Fletcher, on the other hand, merely scoffed at my antics, and Morrigan and Sten just kept walking, not even bothering to look. I laughed with them, and the three of them helped me back up before we began our trek to find the Dalish.

**~xOx~**

"Alright, here looks like a good spot for the night," I announced, dropping my bag at my feet as I glanced up at the setting sun.

"Then let's set up!" Darien was grinning as he threw his belongings on the ground and began to collect firewood from the forest surrounding our little clearing.

"Should he be wandering off like that?" Lelianna asked, sounding somewhere between concerned and amused as she placed her stuff beside mine. I shrugged.

"I couldn't care less, so long he doesn't need us to come save him." She chuckled lightly, then turned to begin setting up her bedroll. I tried to do the same, but was knocked on my back as soon as I knelt down.

"Hedwig!" I laughed, dodging her tongue as she licked my face. Just as soon as she started, however, she stopped, looking off in the direction we had come from. I sat up, pushing her off me gently as I saw a large cart pull up to our campsite.

"Alright, Sandal, this looks like the place," the driver yelled to the back of his wagon, "Let's get out and greet the Wardens." Raising an eyebrow, I got up and walked over to greet the merchant.

"Didn't think we'd be seeing you again so soon," I stated, trying my hardest not to smile. Bodahn looked up at me, a big grin on his face as Sandal came to stand beside him.

"Well, ya see," he began, placing a hand on his son's shoulder, "as it turns out, we were on our way to Orzammar for some trading."

"Uh huh..." I nodded, crossing my arms and trying to appear diplomatic.

"And what with all the darkspawn about," he continued, "well, we decided that it'd be in our best interest - both of ours, actually - that we all travel together." Nodding again, I turned back to ask the others' opinions, only to find them either ignoring us still just staring at the large caravan the dwarves had brought with them. I rolled my eyes.

"Alright, but how is your presence beneficial to us?" I inquired. He smiled again, and gestured to the cart.

"I am a merchant," he explained, showing us some of the merchandise - jewelry, potions, a backpack, even tents! "I'd be more than happy to give you all a discount for allowing us to travel with you." This caught everyone's attention; the group quickly swarmed to see everything he had to offer. Darien took me by the arm, dragging me off to the side.

"Take the deal!" He pseudo-whispered, running back to look at the tents again. I laughed aloud, watching some of them simply fawn over the items being shown.

"Well, miss?" Bodahn asked as he stood beside me, the both of us watching the others go nuts, "What do you say?" I shook my head, my smile finally showing, stretched from ear to ear. I reached to him, shaking his hand.

"It's a deal."

**~oXo~**

_I could see my house in the distance, smoke flowing out the kitchen window. The paint was chipping off the siding, showing aged white under the olive-green, and some of the tin shingles were dented and falling off the roof in places; the chimney looked the worst, a blue tarp tied to the top where Basil and I had knocked a hole into it when we were younger and tried to catch Santa._

_It was just like how I'd left it._

_The door slammed, and I saw myself storm away. I followed, trying to see just how far I had gone from the house before reaching the honeysuckle patch._ _I couldn't see much, everything blurring together just like it was that day. I reached the honeysuckles not a moment after the ghost of myself, and watched as the darkspawn leapt out and attacked._

_It was then I realized that there was no sound; no screams, no growls, not even a breath. Quickly and silently, I saw myself get knocked out and dragged through the bushes and out of sight. I tried to follow again, but found myself rooted to the spot._

_Moments later, a movement brought my attention to a form coming through the bushes: my mom. She appeared to be calling out to me, but the sound was muted to my ears. She was frantic, searching desperately in the bushes, but to no avail._

_I called out to her, but no matter how my mouth moved, no sound emerged. I saw her stop and she stepped in a small splatter of blood - where I had hit my head, no doubt. Lying in the miniature puddle was a little clip, shaped like a blue butterfly. My hand flew to my hair, realizing that it must have fallen out while I was being dragged away._

_My mother, at the sight of the blood-covered pendant, collapsed to the ground. Her entire body was shaking, sobs racking her body soundlessly, and even with her long hair falling in her face, I could see her whispering my name with every breath. My heart broke at the scene, and I dropped to my knees, tears pricking at my eyes. The sight before me blurred, and I felt a rush of panicked adrenaline, reaching my hand out in an attempt to grab onto her; just as I reached her, she disappeared, her form passing right through my fingers. I chocked on my breath, the tears painting salty streams down my cheeks._

_"Mama..."_

**~xOx~**

I sat up in my tent, drenched in sweat and gasping for air. It felt like there wasn't enough oxygen in the space I was confined, so I leapt up and out, practically running past Fletcher on his watch to sit at the edge of the camp, next to the war dogs. Odie slept on, undisturbed by my presence.

_Hmm, some war dog…_

Hedwig awoke beside me, a questioning glint in her dark eyes. I looked at her for a moment, and quickly collapsed, burying my head in her furry neck and I hugged her. I could feel the mage boring holes into my back, but I ignored him in favor of trying to hold back the salty tears from falling down my face. It felt like forever as I sat there, thinking on the dream – as well as everything that I had left at home.

_Mom, Basil, Rosemary….What am I doing?_ I had been taken forcibly from my world, from everything I had ever known, and thrown into a world of danger and destruction that I thought only existed in my wildest dreams…I _should_ be trying to get home, but what have I been doing? I jumped at the chance to be a part of the story I had come to love, and to be with the characters I had come to hold dear, but at what cost?

_I left my family behind to chase after a dream that may get me killed in the end…What was I _thinking_?!_ I berated myself, no longer attempting to stop the tears cascading down my cheeks. My resolve hardened as the thoughts continued to rush through my head.

_No matter what the cost, no matter what waits for me….I_ have_ to get home…_

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**A/n: I hope you guys enjoyed this! I promise, it won't take me 5 billion years to update again! (though it _may_ be after "doomsday", lol!) Please read and review, but no flames, please! Oh, and for those of you that know Charlette Cheshire, my good friend, I have some news: 1st) Her DA:2 story, The Game, is currently being revamped, so it'll be gone for a little while, and 2nd) she is curently available as a beta as well, if any of you are interested! :3 OH! And Happy Hanuakah (did I spell that right?) to all of you who celebrate that lovely holiday! I'm gonna go eat some latkas and put up our christmas tree! Night!**


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